Cruise control device and cruise control method for autonomous vehicle

Abstract

To provide "a travel control device and a travel control method for automatic drive vehicle" which can travel in a condition where an occupant is less likely to have car sickness, in an automatic drive vehicle which can travel in a first direction and in a second direction opposite from that.SOLUTION: A travel control device 10 which controls the travel of an automatic drive vehicle which can travel at least in a first direction and in a second direction opposite from that includes: a seating direction detection part 11 for detecting a seating direction of an occupant of the automatic drive vehicle; and a travel direction control part 12 for controlling the travel direction of the automatic drive vehicle based on the detected seating direction. By controlling in such a manner that the seating direction of the occupant becomes the travelling direction of the automatic drive vehicle, the occupant is seated facing frontward with respect to the travelling direction, and the vehicle can travel in a condition in which the occupant is less likely to have car sickness.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving control device and a driving control method for an autonomous vehicle, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for controlling the driving of an autonomous vehicle capable of driving at least in a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, research and development of self-driving cars has been actively conducted. There are different levels of automation for self-driving cars, ranging from level 1, where the system assists in one of acceleration, steering, or braking, to level 5, where the system can be left to completely drive under all circumstances. When automation reaches level 5, a person who plays the role of a driver is no longer necessary, and therefore the concept of front and rear will no longer be present in the movement of self-driving cars. In other words, while all seats in current cars are installed facing a specific direction of the body and the principle is that the car moves forward in that specific direction during normal driving, level 5 self-driving cars will be able to drive normally in either the forward or backward direction of current cars. Development of self-driving cars with seat layouts and interior space designs that have no front and rear is also underway.

[0003] In this specification, the two travel directions in which a level 5 autonomous vehicle can normally travel are referred to as a first direction (corresponding to the front of the current vehicle) and a second direction (corresponding to the rear of the current vehicle). In an autonomous vehicle with a seating layout without front and rear, if some seats are installed facing the first direction and some seats are installed facing the second direction, some occupants will be seated facing backwards toward the direction of travel of the vehicle. However, if the time spent traveling backwards increases, some people may become car sick. In view of this problem, a control device has been proposed that controls the vehicle's motion characteristics (e.g., acceleration characteristics) to be gentler based on the detection result of the seating direction of the occupants (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-123283 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When it is detected that the passenger is seated facing backwards, the acceleration characteristics can be controlled to be gentler than when the passenger is not seated facing backwards, which can make the passenger less susceptible to car sickness to some extent. However, some people may still get car sick.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to enable an autonomous vehicle capable of normally driving in a first direction and an opposite second direction to drive in conditions where occupants are less likely to get car sick. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the driving control device of the present invention controls the driving of an autonomous vehicle that can travel at least in a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, and Among them, passengers who may get car sick The seating direction of the driver is detected, and the direction of travel of the self-driving vehicle is controlled based on the detected seating direction. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to change the direction of travel of an autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction of the occupant of the autonomous vehicle, and for example, it is possible to control the seating direction of the occupant so that it coincides with the direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle. In this way, the occupant will be seated facing forward in the direction of travel, making it possible to travel in a situation where the occupant is less likely to get car sick. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a cruise control system including a cruise control device according to an embodiment of the present invention that is mounted on an autonomous vehicle. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the driving control device of the present embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of control of the traveling direction of an autonomous vehicle by the traveling direction control unit of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a use case of controlling the direction of travel according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the driving control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a driving control device according to a first modified example. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of control of the traveling direction of an autonomously driven vehicle by a traveling direction control unit according to a first modified example. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a driving control device according to a second modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a cruise control system including a cruise control device 10 of this embodiment mounted on an autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle on which the cruise control device 10 of this embodiment is mounted is a level 5 autonomous vehicle capable of fully autonomous driving, and can travel at least in a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto. The cruise control device 10 controls the travel of such an autonomous vehicle.

[0011] For the sake of convenience, the first direction is defined as the direction corresponding to the front of an automobile (hereinafter referred to as a normal automobile) whose front and rear are fixed. The second direction is defined as the direction corresponding to the rear of an ordinary automobile. Being capable of traveling in the first and second directions means that the vehicle can travel normally in the same manner as a normal automobile travels forward in both the first and second directions.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the cruise control system of this embodiment includes a cruise control device 10, an in-vehicle camera 20, and an automatic driving control device (not shown in Fig. 1). The cruise control device 10, the in-vehicle camera 20, and the automatic driving control device are connected via an in-vehicle LAN such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) or a Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST).

[0013] The vehicle-mounted camera 20 is, for example, a wide-angle camera mounted on the ceiling, and is capable of capturing images of all the seats in the vehicle. Images captured by the vehicle-mounted camera 20 are supplied to the driving control device 10. The driving control device 10 detects the seating direction of the occupants by performing image recognition on the captured images supplied from the vehicle-mounted camera 20, and controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the detection result.

[0014] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the driving control device 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the driving control device 10 of this embodiment has, as its functional configuration, a seating direction detection unit 11 and a traveling direction control unit 12. Each of these functional blocks 11 and 12 can be configured by any of hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured by software, each of the functional blocks 11 and 12 is actually configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. of a computer, and is realized by the operation of a program stored in a recording medium such as a RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

[0015] The seating direction detection unit 11 detects the seating direction of the occupant of the autonomous vehicle based on the captured image provided by the in-vehicle camera 20. That is, the seating direction detection unit 11 detects whether the occupant is seated facing a first direction or a second direction. When there are multiple occupants, the seating direction detection unit 11 detects the seating direction for each occupant.

[0016] The traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit 11. Here, the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle by outputting information indicating the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle to the autonomous driving control device 30. The autonomous driving control device 30 has a function of controlling the autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle, and known techniques are applied to it. The details of the processing performed by the autonomous driving control device 30 are not the subject of the present invention, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0017] When the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit 11 is either the first direction or the second direction, the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit 11 to be the traveling direction so that the occupant faces forward with respect to the traveling direction. That is, as shown in Fig. 3(a), the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so that the occupant faces forward.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a use case of the control of the traveling direction according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4(a) shows a situation in which, for example, an autonomous vehicle travels in a first direction and parks in a parking lot facing forward with the first direction as the forward direction. FIG. 4(b) and (c) show a situation in which an occupant gets off the autonomous vehicle in the parking lot, completes a requirement, and then gets back in the autonomous vehicle and starts driving. In FIG. 4(b) and FIG. 4(c), the seating direction of the occupant when boarding the autonomous vehicle is different.

[0019] 4(b) shows a situation in which the occupant sits in a seat opposite to the seat they sat in before getting off, i.e., the occupant sat facing a first direction before getting off, but sits facing a second direction after getting on. In this case, the seating direction detection unit 11 detects that the occupant is seated facing the second direction based on the captured image provided by the in-vehicle camera 20. Then, the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so that the occupant faces forward in the traveling direction and travels in the second direction in which the occupant faces forward.

[0020] FIG. 4(c) shows a situation where the occupant sits in the same seat as the occupant sat in before getting off, that is, the occupant sat facing the first direction before getting off, and sat facing the first direction after getting on. In this case, the seating direction detection unit 11 detects that the occupant is seated facing the first direction. Then, the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so that the occupant faces forward in the traveling direction and travels in the first direction in which the occupant faces forward. In this case, the autonomous driving control device 30 controls the traveling direction to move in the second direction once to exit the parking lot, and then to change the traveling direction back to the first direction.

[0021] In addition, when there are multiple occupants, there may be a mixture of occupants seated facing the first direction and occupants seated facing the second direction. In this case, the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so that the greater number of occupants faces forward in the traveling direction, as shown in FIG. 3(b), for example. When the number of occupants seated facing the first direction is the same as the number of occupants seated facing the second direction, the traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so as to maintain the previous traveling direction, for example.

[0022] Furthermore, the traveling direction control unit 12 may control the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so that at least one occupant faces forward in the traveling direction, regardless of whether there are more occupants seated facing the first direction or more occupants seated facing the second direction. For example, the traveling direction control unit 12 may control the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle so as to maintain the previous traveling direction.

[0023] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the driving control device 10 configured as above. The flowchart shown in Fig. 5 is executed, for example, when the power supply of the driving control device 10 is turned on.

[0024] When the driving control device 10 is powered on, the seating direction detection unit 11 detects the seating direction of the occupant of the autonomous vehicle based on the captured image provided by the vehicle-mounted camera 20 (step S1). Then, based on the seating direction detected by the traveling direction control unit 12 and the seating direction detection unit 11, information instructing the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle is output to the autonomous driving control device 30, thereby controlling the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle (step S2). This ends the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. After this, the autonomous driving control device 30 controls the autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle so that the direction instructed by the driving control device 10 is set as the traveling direction.

[0025] As described above in detail, in this embodiment, the seating direction of the occupant of the autonomous vehicle is detected, and the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle is controlled based on the detected seating direction. According to this embodiment configured in this way, it is possible to change the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction of the occupant of the autonomous vehicle, and it is possible to control the seating direction of the occupant to match the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle. As a result, the occupant is seated facing forward in the traveling direction, so the vehicle can be driven in a state where the occupant is less likely to get car sick.

[0026] <First Modification> Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a driving control device 10A according to a first modification. In Fig. 6, the components having the same reference numerals as those shown in Fig. 2 have the same functions, and therefore the duplicated explanations will be omitted here. As shown in Fig. 6, the driving control device 10A according to the first modification further includes an occupant registration unit 13 as a functional configuration, and includes a seating direction detection unit 11A instead of the seating direction detection unit 11. In addition, the driving control device 10A according to the first modification further includes an occupant information storage unit 14 as a storage medium.

[0027] The occupant registration unit 13 performs a process of registering occupants who are prone to car sickness in advance. For example, the occupant registration unit 13 registers occupants who are prone to car sickness in advance by storing captured images of the faces of occupants who are prone to car sickness in the occupant information storage unit 14 according to the operation of the occupant on the driving control device 10.

[0028] The seating direction detection unit 11A detects the seating direction of the occupant registered by the occupant registration unit 13. That is, the seating direction detection unit 11A recognizes a pre-registered occupant from the captured image provided by the vehicle-mounted camera 20 based on the captured image provided by the vehicle-mounted camera 20 and the captured image of the occupant registered in the occupant information storage unit 14, and detects the seating direction of the occupant. If a pre-registered occupant is not recognized from the captured image provided by the vehicle-mounted camera 20, the seating direction detection unit 11A may detect the seating direction of the occupant in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

[0029] 7, even if there are other occupants 72, 73 sitting facing the opposite direction to the seating direction of the occupant 71 registered in the occupant information storage unit 14, the seating direction of the registered occupant 71 is given priority in controlling the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle. This allows the occupant 71 who is prone to car sickness to face forward in the traveling direction, enabling the vehicle to travel in conditions where the occupant 71 is less likely to get car sick.

[0030] <Second Modification> Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a driving control device 10B according to a second modification. In Fig. 8, the same reference numerals as those shown in Fig. 2 have the same functions, so that the duplicated explanation will be omitted here. As shown in Fig. 8, the driving control device 10B according to the second modification further includes a car sickness estimation unit 15 as a functional configuration, and includes a seating direction detection unit 11B instead of the seating direction detection unit 11.

[0031] The car sickness estimation unit 15 estimates the car sickness state of the occupant while the autonomous vehicle is traveling, based on the captured image provided by the on-board camera 20. For example, the car sickness estimation unit 15 stores the facial image captured by the on-board camera 20 when the occupant boards the autonomous vehicle. Then, the car sickness estimation unit 15 periodically compares the facial image of the occupant captured by the on-board camera 20 while the autonomous vehicle is traveling with the facial image captured and stored when the occupant boards the vehicle, and estimates the signs of car sickness by monitoring changes such as a paler complexion compared to when the occupant boards the vehicle or a stiffer facial expression compared to when the occupant boards the vehicle. Alternatively, the car sickness estimation unit 15 may estimate the signs of car sickness by monitoring phenomena that occur when the occupant is car sick (for example, occurrence of live yawning, sweating, increased swallowing of live saliva, etc.) based on the image of the occupant captured by the on-board camera 20 while the autonomous vehicle is traveling.

[0032] The seating direction detection unit 11B detects the seating direction of an occupant who is estimated to have signs of car sickness by the car sickness estimation unit 15. When there is no occupant who is estimated to have signs of car sickness by the car sickness estimation unit 15, the seating direction detection unit 11B may detect the seating direction of the occupant in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

[0033] The traveling direction control unit 12 controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit 11B. Note that since the car sickness estimation unit 15 estimates signs of car sickness while the autonomous vehicle is traveling, the traveling direction control unit 12 also controls the traveling direction while the autonomous vehicle is traveling.

[0034] Here, if the traveling direction instructed by the traveling direction control unit 12 to the automatic driving control device 30 is the same as the current traveling direction, the automatic driving control device 30 does not need to perform control to change the traveling direction. On the other hand, if the traveling direction instructed by the traveling direction control unit 12 to the automatic driving control device 30 is different from the current traveling direction, the automatic driving control device 30 performs control to change the traveling direction. For example, the traveling direction is changed by performing an operation similar to that shown in Fig. 4(b) in a safe place.

[0035] According to the second modification, even if passengers who are prone to car sickness are not registered in advance, if there is a passenger who is estimated to have signs of car sickness, the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle is controlled so that the passenger faces forward in the traveling direction. For example, after the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle is determined based on the seating direction of any one of multiple passengers and the vehicle starts traveling, if a passenger who is sitting backwards in the traveling direction is estimated to have signs of car sickness, the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle is changed so that the passenger faces forward in the traveling direction. This makes it possible to make a passenger who shows signs of car sickness face forward in the traveling direction, and the autonomous vehicle can travel in a situation where the passenger is less likely to get car sick.

[0036] In the above embodiment, an example of detecting the seating direction of an occupant based on an image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera 20 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a weight sensor may be installed in each seat, and the seat in which the occupant sits may be detected by the weight sensor. In this case, it is assumed that the seating direction of the occupant in each seat is fixed. If the seating direction of the occupant in each seat is variable by tilting the backrest of the seat to the opposite side or rotating the seat, it is possible to detect the seating direction of the occupant based on the image captured by the vehicle-mounted camera 20. If a sensor for detecting the angle of the backrest or the direction of the seat is further provided, a weight sensor may be used.

[0037] In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples of the implementation of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited thereby. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or main characteristics thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 10 Driving control device 11, 11A, 11B Seating direction detection unit 12 Direction Control Unit 13 Crew Registration Department 14 Occupant information storage unit 15 Car Sickness Estimation Department

Claims

1. A driving control device that controls driving of an autonomous vehicle that can travel in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, A passenger registration unit that registers passengers who are prone to car sickness in advance; A seating direction detection unit that detects the seating direction of a passenger who may suffer from car sickness among the passengers of the autonomous vehicle and is registered by the passenger registration unit; a travel direction control unit that controls a travel direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit, When the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit is either the first direction or the second direction, the traveling direction control unit controls the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit to be the traveling direction so that the occupant who may become car sick faces forward in the traveling direction. A driving control device for an autonomous vehicle.

2. A driving control device that controls driving of an autonomous vehicle that can travel in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, A passenger registration unit that registers passengers who are prone to car sickness in advance; A seating direction detection unit that detects the seating direction of a passenger who may suffer from car sickness among the passengers of the autonomous vehicle and is registered by the passenger registration unit; a travel direction control unit that controls a travel direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit, The traveling direction control unit controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle for at least one of the occupants who may suffer from car sickness so that the at least one occupant faces forward in the traveling direction. A driving control device for an autonomous vehicle.

3. A driving control device that controls driving of an autonomous vehicle that can travel in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, A car sickness estimation unit that estimates a car sickness state of a passenger of the autonomous vehicle while the autonomous vehicle is traveling; A seating direction detection unit that detects the seating direction of a passenger who is likely to suffer from car sickness among the passengers of the autonomous vehicle and who is estimated to have a sign of car sickness by the car sickness estimation unit as the seating direction of the passenger; a travel direction control unit that controls a travel direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit, When the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit is either the first direction or the second direction, the traveling direction control unit controls the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit to be the traveling direction so that the occupant who may become car sick faces forward in the traveling direction. A driving control device for an autonomous vehicle.

4. A driving control device that controls driving of an autonomous vehicle that can travel in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, A car sickness estimation unit that estimates a car sickness state of a passenger of the autonomous vehicle while the autonomous vehicle is traveling; A seating direction detection unit that detects the seating direction of a passenger who is likely to suffer from car sickness among the passengers of the autonomous vehicle and who is estimated to have a sign of car sickness by the car sickness estimation unit as the seating direction of the passenger; a travel direction control unit that controls a travel direction of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit, The traveling direction control unit controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle for at least one of the occupants who may suffer from car sickness so that the at least one occupant faces forward in the traveling direction. A driving control device for an autonomous vehicle.

5. 1. A method for controlling travel of an autonomous vehicle capable of travelling in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, comprising: A first step in which an occupant registration unit of the driving control device registers in advance occupants who are prone to car sickness; A second step in which a seating direction detection unit of the driving control device detects the seating direction of an occupant registered by the occupant registration unit as the seating direction of an occupant who may suffer from car sickness among the occupants of the autonomous vehicle; and a third step of controlling a direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit by a travel direction control unit of the driving control device, When the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit is either the first direction or the second direction, the traveling direction control unit controls the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit to be the traveling direction so that the occupant who may become car sick faces forward in the traveling direction. A method for controlling driving of an autonomous vehicle.

6. 1. A method for controlling travel of an autonomous vehicle capable of travelling in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, comprising: A first step in which an occupant registration unit of the driving control device registers in advance occupants who are prone to car sickness; A second step in which a seating direction detection unit of the driving control device detects the seating direction of an occupant registered by the occupant registration unit as the seating direction of an occupant who may suffer from car sickness among the occupants of the autonomous vehicle; and a third step of controlling a direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit by a travel direction control unit of the driving control device, The traveling direction control unit controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle for at least one of the occupants who may suffer from car sickness so that the at least one occupant faces forward in the traveling direction. A method for controlling driving of an autonomous vehicle.

7. 1. A method for controlling travel of an autonomous vehicle capable of travelling in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, comprising: A first step in which a car sickness estimation unit of a driving control device estimates a car sickness state of an occupant of the autonomous vehicle while the autonomous vehicle is traveling; A second step in which a seating direction detection unit of the driving control device detects the seating direction of an occupant who is likely to suffer from car sickness among the occupants of the autonomous vehicle and who is estimated to have a sign of car sickness by the car sickness estimation unit; and a third step of controlling a direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit by a travel direction control unit of the driving control device, When the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit is either the first direction or the second direction, the traveling direction control unit controls the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit to be the traveling direction so that the occupant who may become car sick faces forward in the traveling direction. A method for controlling driving of an autonomous vehicle.

8. 1. A method for controlling travel of an autonomous vehicle capable of travelling in at least a first direction and a second direction opposite thereto, comprising: A first step in which a car sickness estimation unit of a driving control device estimates a car sickness state of an occupant of the autonomous vehicle while the autonomous vehicle is traveling; A second step in which a seating direction detection unit of the driving control device detects the seating direction of an occupant who is likely to suffer from car sickness among the occupants of the autonomous vehicle and who is estimated to have a sign of car sickness by the car sickness estimation unit; and a third step of controlling a direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle based on the seating direction detected by the seating direction detection unit by a travel direction control unit of the driving control device, The traveling direction control unit controls the traveling direction of the autonomous vehicle for at least one of the occupants who may suffer from car sickness so that the at least one occupant faces forward in the traveling direction. A method for controlling driving of an autonomous vehicle.

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